Hydrogen Intelligence - H2lligence

We would like to congratulate our Founder & CEO Mr. Osama Fawzy Georgy HENEIN, MBA for being appointed as the Member of the Advisory Board of Mediterranean Hydrogen Alliance

DNV - Maritime has published the Maritime Forecast to 2050 for Energy Transition Outlook August 2024 The outlook sheds light on the technologies and fuels of shipping’s energy future. We present an analysis of the future availability of carbon-neutral fuels and carbon storage, as well as estimates on how much shipping can reduce its energy consumption. Spurred by a wave of decarbonization regulations, shipping is in a phase of unprecedented innovation with a wide range of new technologies being developed, tested, and implemented. Overall, the new technologies and fuels necessary for decarbonization increase costs of seaborne transport and these costs must be moved through the value chain to the consumer as an increase in the price of goods. We present ongoing discussions in the IMO and an outlook on the upcoming changes in maritime regulations. This is the first year where ships trading in the EU are subject to the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), which has required a revision of regulatory responsibility and contracts to ensure the allowance costs are passed through the supply chain to the responsible company. IMO negotiations are ongoing, developing what is called a basket of measures which can consist of two parts: a technical element, which will mandate reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of marine fuels, and an economic element, which will be a GHG emissions pricing mechanism. The EU’s #FuelEU Maritime Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1805) coming in 2025 is imposing a well to-wake GHG intensity requirement on energy used during a year, effectively forcing the use of qualified low GHG fuels. Another feature of FuelEU Maritime, and something that is under discussion in the IMO, is the option to pool compliance across several ships from the same or different companies. This means that each individual ship does not need to achieve the required fuel GHG intensity but can rely on other ships to achieve a combined level of fuel GHG intensity that is below the requirement. Pooling of compliance can incentivize shipowners to invest in technologies to use alternative fuels, as they can receive ‘pool ticket income’ from ships joining their pool. Measured in total cost per ton of GHG emission reductions, DNV estimates that including a pooling mechanism can reduce the cost of decarbonization by 6% Osama Fawzy Georgy HENEIN, MBA

Fortescue has agreed to purchase a 39.8% stake in natural hydrogen company HyTerra for AUD$ 21.9 m ($14.9m), making the mining firm the largest shareholder of the company. HyTerra will use the investment to support its plans to drill six wells in Kansas, the US, for natural hydrogen exploration, for which a permit was secured last month The 40% stake will be subject to shareholder approval, which is expected to be used to fund an expanded initial exploration phase of the #Nemaha Project. This will see its pre-drill acreage expanded and open new drilling opportunities that are identified. The Nemaha Project site is located around 200m north of a well drilled in 2009 which reported up to 92% hydrogen and up to 3% helium. “This investment would enable HyTerra to have a strong financial position going forward, but it’s the possibility to propel the global decarbonisation journey with such a visionary company that is truly exciting,” explained Benjamin Mee, HyTerra’s Executive Director. “HyTerra would then drill six wells across multiple geological plays to choose the best areas to develop and through the strategic alliance with Fortescue Zero use this knowledge and data to pursue other global opportunities,” Mee added. Osama Fawzy Georgy HENEIN, MBA

Researchers at the ETH Zürich have devised a novel way to use abundantly available #iron to #store #hydrogen. In three stainless steel walled containers, just six millimeters thick walls, the researchers demonstrated hydrogen storage of 10 MWh for months without losing storage capacity. Energy storage and retrieval happens thanks to the commonly occurring process of iron rusting, a principle also used in iron-air batteries.  In a bid to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, the Swiss government plans to use solar energy to source 40 percent of its energy needs by 2050. The problem with solar energy, especially in Switzerland, is that there is too much of it in summer and too little in winter when energy demand shoots up. To overcome this shortcoming, the government plans to use energy from wind and hydro farms but also gas-fired plants when required. Researchers at ETH Zurich, however, have a better idea and think hydrogen could meet this need. Hydrogen gas can be made by splitting water using #solarenergy during summer months and used as a clean fuel in winter. But, storing this highly volatile and flammable gas over long periods is energy-intensive and comes with many risks. The safer and much cheaper solution is to store it as rust Led by Wendelin Stark, a professor of functional materials ETH Zurich researchers use the steam-iron process, known since the 19th century to store hydrogen in iron. The flammable gas is pumped into a stainless steel reactor, where iron ore is maintained at 400 degrees Celsius At these temperatures, hydrogen extracts oxygen from iron oxide or rust, making water and iron. This is much like charging a battery, where energy is stored in water and iron and can be retained for months without major losses In winter months when energy demand is high, researchers can run hot steam into these reactors. This reverses the process forming rust and releasing hydrogen gas. The hydrogen can be used to generate electricity in a fuel cell or even burned as fuel to move a turbine Schematic representation of conversion processes involved in storing hydrogen in iron The greatest advantage of this storage option is that it is easy to execute and inexpensive. The materials used in the process do not need any preprocessing, and they can be easily scaled anywhere in the world without pumping up market prices of iron Onsite storage capacities can be increased by simply adding more reactors, and the material can be recycled through charge-discharge cycles for years without requiring replacement. Researchers have built three such reactors as a pilot facility at the #Hönggerberg campus to demonstrate the technology The facility can store 10 MWh of hydrogen, which, when converted back, could yield 4-6 MWh of energy. The technology’s drawback is that it loses up to 60% of energy in the conversion steps The researchers are keen to test the technology at a larger scale and plan to store 4 GWh in reactors with a volume of 2000m3 Osama Fawzy

Chart Industries, Inc. and Element Resources Inc have joined forces to develop an ‘eco-system’ to support the commercialization of hydrogen and its related technologies. They confirmed the effort, which builds upon a previously announced partnership in March 2024 when Element selected Chart technology for a California-based hydrogen liquefaction plant. With the extended partnership, however, Chart and Element will cooperate on a full range of technologies spanning hydrogen supply, distribution, storage and transportation, end user facilities, and associated services in the hydrogen and clean energy sectors. Each of the pursued projects will feature technology from Chart. Steve Meheen, CEO of Element Resources Inc, said, “Element is looking forward to partnering with Chart Industries, Inc. as we continue to develop our pipeline of projects and expand existing sites in the future to further develop the hydrogen ecosystem and support industries globally accelerating the adoption of hydrogen and user globally.” Jillian Evanko Congratulations

Sweden’s been stealthily using hydrogen to forge green steel. Now it’s ready to industrialize Deep in Sweden’s icy north sits a small factory where the country’s largest industrial players have been steadily validating a new technology that could clean up one of the dirtiest industries on Earth.  Energy giant Vattenfall, steel-maker SSAB, and mining firm LKAB built the facility — located in the small town of Luleå — in 2020, as part of the #HYBRIT project. The initiative aims to prove that steel can be made on an industrial scale using hydrogen and clean electricity.  “Using hydrogen to produce steel is still in its very early stages,” an SSAB representative told TNW. “It represents only a tiny fraction of today’s steel production.” But that might be about to change.   How do you make steel using hydrogen?   Steel is one of the world’s most used materials. And its production is responsible for 11% of global CO2 emissions. Most of these emissions are produced when heating and reducing iron the core component of steel in a blast furnace using coal and coke (a refined type of coal, not the soft drink).  The #HYBRIT technology, however, doesn’t use a blast furnace at all. It uses hydrogen instead of coke in a process called direct reduction. This reduces iron oxides to metallic iron without melting it. The hydrogen reacts with the oxygen in iron ore, producing so-called “sponge iron.” The only byproduct is water vapor. A piece of fossil-free sponge iron with the Hybrit pilot plant in the background. Credit: Hybrit At the plant in Luleå, SSAB takes this sponge iron and then melts it into steel in an electric arc furnace powered by Vattenfall’s wind farms. The result is good old fashioned steel — but without the emissions. This week, Vattenfall, SSAB and LKAB presented the results of their six-year trial to the Swedish Energy Agency. The report shows that the iron produced using hydrogen isn’t just carbon neutral, but is also stronger and more durable than iron produced with fossil fuels. The partners have applied for and received several patents based on the results HYBRIT’s pilot plant is the world’s first to prove the #fossilfree #valuechain for steel on a semi-industrial scale. The factory has already produced 5,000 tons of hydrogen-reduced iron. And companies like Volvo Group, Epiroc, and Peab have already put the green steel in their cars, machinery, and buildings The industrial giants will now start building a larger factory in #Gällivare three hours North of #Luleå, in the heart of Swedish Lapland. The long-term plan is to build more hydrogen iron factories and completely decarbonize #steel production in #Sweden slashing 10% of the countries emissions. However, significant hurdles lie ahead. Generating sufficient quantities of green hydrogen will require constant supplies of clean energy. Moreover hydrogen is currently much more expensive than fossil fuels, and the price isn’t falling as fast as anticipated Osama Fawzy Georgy HENEIN, MBA

Hydrogen Europe published the Clean Hydrogen Production Pathways Report July 2024 BNEF’s New Energy Outlook estimates 34 Mt and 54 Mt of clean hydrogen by 2040 and 2050 respectively to achieve Net Zero in Europe by 2050. • Achieving those volumes requires a massive scale up from around 0.05 Mt of clean hydrogen production capacity via water electrolysys in operation currently (June 2024). • While water electrolysis has a significant cost reduction potential and offer important benefits from a wider energy system perspective including the possibility for coupling of the gas and electricity sectors-thus supporting an increased penetration of #renewableenergy in the energy system, other technologies besides water electrolysis can also produce clean hydrogen and contribute to achieving #NetZero by 2050 in Europe. This is especially crucial for regions were supply of renewable energy is either scarce or expensive. • These include reforming with #carboncapture, methane splitting, biowaste-to-hydrogen, and non-biological waste-to-hydrogen. • Each clean hydrogen production pathways has its unique benefits and challenges related to scale, feedstock, GHG intensity, costs, infrastructure requirements, and regulatory treatment. Osama Fawzy Georgy HENEIN, MBA

One of Europe’s largest green hydrogen industrial clusters to be built in Sweden Green hydrogen producer Lhyfe, onshore wind developer OX2, and innovative green fertilizer firm Velarion Group are joining forces to create one of Europe’s largest green hydrogen-based industrial clusters. The proposed cluster, tapping on wind power to produce green hydrogen and then using it to make carbon-neutral fertilizer, would be located in #Sweden’s #Ånge municipality. OX2 Åland is developing a #windfarm with a planned annual production capacity of 1.4 TWh. The #greenelectricity would power a 300 MW electrolyzer that Lhyfe plans to build, with a capacity of up to 100 tons of green hydrogen per day. Velarion Group, a key partner in the initiative, would build one of the world’s first carbon-neutral fertilizer plants within this cluster. According to the project, the state-of-the-art facility would utilize green hydrogen to produce green ammonia, significantly reducing carbon emissions in fertilizer production. The cluster would use green hydrogen to produce carbon-neutral ammonia “We are excited about the potential of this project, which will utilize electricity from wind farm Marktjärn to power a green industrial cluster, enabling sustainable local industry and enhancing the attractiveness for further industrial establishments in Ånge,” said Anders Nilsson, head of onshore wind at OX2. The project is now entering the conceptual phase, while its implementation will be subject to the conclusions of a feasibility study, permitting, and financial investment decisions, according to a joint press release from Lhyfe and OX2. Lhyfe built the world’s first large-scale wind-powered green hydrogen plant Lhyfe, a company from Nantes, France, is a European producer and supplier of green and renewable hydrogen. In 2021, it inaugurated the world’s first industrial-scale green hydrogen production plant interconnected with a wind farm. OX2, headquartered in #Stockholm, develops, constructs, and manages large-scale renewable energy projects, including wind, solar, and energy storage. It operates in 11 European markets as well as Australia. Velarion Group focuses on producing #greenurea and #greenammonia, crucial for achieving a carbon-neutral future. It creates eco-friendly alternatives to traditional fertilizers, reducing agriculture’s carbon footprint, according to the press release. Osama Fawzy Georgy HENEIN, MBA

Global Energy Monitor published in August 2024 the Leading 3 Manufacturers of Gas turbines GE Vernova Siemens Energy Mitsubishi Power Leading three manufacturers providing two-thirds of turbines for gas-fired power plants under construction Through joint ventures and corporate partnerships in key global regions, leading gas turbine manufacturers are seeking opportunities to become linchpins of the energy transition. They have strategically marketed themselves as crucial to the transition by providing flexible, hydrogen-ready turbines. According to data researched by Global Energy Monitor, the top 3 leading gas turbine manufacturers GE Vernova, Siemens Energy, and Mitsubishi Power Europe dominate the global gas turbine market for gas-fired power plants under construction, with two-thirds of the market. GE Vernova leads the global market with almost 55 gigawatts (GW) of turbines under construction Gas turbine manufacturers are facing risks by betting on the future of #greenhydrogen in the #energytransition, as questions persist about the technology’s suitability for #decarbonization. A lack of hydrogen supply, pipeline infrastructure and storage capacity are significant and costly barriers to overcome, according to a report from Global Energy Monitor. Even using green hydrogen provides little emissions benefit until it’s blended at high levels, the climate research group said. Osama Fawzy Georgy HENEIN, MBA

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence published the Benchmark Lithium Price Assessment Methodology Osama Fawzy Georgy HENEIN, MBA